Most Expensive – Part 1

We all know that photography – as with any hobby – can get a bit expensive if you want to go for the latest and greatest stuff.

But recently I was pointed to two articles that give the extreme end of photographic expense. In the second post I’ll talk about the most expensive photographs ever sold but today I want to talk about expensive cameras and this article from Amateur Photographer.

Unsurprisingly four of the eleven, including the first one on the list, are Leica. If you know anything about photography you’ll have heard of this iconic brand that is beyond the reach of most of us, although you can buy other makes of camera that look very similar – particularly from Russia with makers like Zorki and FED.

In the middle of the list are three stunning digital medium format cameras from the market leaders; Mamiya, PhaseOne and Hasselblad. I’d love the chance to shoot with one of these iconic cameras – at £25,000 I’m not likely to own one!

Number 7 is a diamond encrusted camera. Of course it’s the diamonds that have the value as the camera is a fairly modest Canon IXUS 65 compact. You’d have to have some serious money to burn to buy this.

It won’t surprise you to learn that the last four are rare classic cameras including a couple of Leicas and a Hasselblad ‘space camera’.

But the most expensive, like any great painting or piece of furniture is a rare example made by a famous artisan. It is one of only twelve Leica O-series left in the world and was sold in 2012 for £1,767,870.

The camera in the photo above is a plastic, build-it-yourself kit of a TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) that shoots 35mm film. They are available for less than a tenner on eBay.